Astros 2 - 4 White Sox
Final
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Astros hope Keuchel can play stopper against White Sox

Jun 9, 2015 - 2:09 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Astros hope their ace can stop a season-high five-game losing streak Tuesday in the middle test of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

Dallas Keuchel is 7-1 with a strong 1.85 earned run average in 12 starts and the Astros are 9-3 when he takes the mound. Keuchel did not figure into the decision of a 3-2 loss to Baltimore on Thursday and pitched six innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts and one walk.

The left-hander has fanned 18 batters with only one walk in his last two starts and tossed a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 win on May 30 versus the White Sox. Keuchel was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for May (4-1, 2.62 ERA) and won the honor in April.

In three career starts against the White Sox, Keuchel has a 2-1 record with a 2.21 ERA.

Houston unveiled top prospect Carlos Correa in Monday's 3-1 loss to the White Sox and the shortstop finished 1-for-4 with the lone RBI on a single in the top of the fourth inning. Jose Altuve had two hits and starter Lance McCullers pitched well in defeat, allowing three runs and four hits in seven innings.

Avisail Garcia's two-run homer in the fourth was key, but the star of the show was White Sox left-hander Chris Sale. Sale fanned 14 batters, walked one and gave up one run and five hits over eight innings. He became the first player in franchise history to record four straight starts of 10-plus punchouts. He's also the first player since Randy Johnson in 2001 with three consecutive games of at least a dozen strikeouts.

"(Sale) was fantastic. He's been on a roll and some of the numbers he's racking up have been impressive," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He has a new gear now."

Astros manager A.J. Hinch agreed with Ventura's sentiments.

"Tonight was all about Chris Sale," Hinch said. "Our guys battled but they lost a game to a premium pitcher."

The White Sox ended a two-game slide to move to 2-2 on this quick homestand and rebounded from Sunday's 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Carlos Rodon will handle pitching duties for the Pale Hose Tuesday and has recorded four straight no-decisions, including Thursday's 2-1 loss at Texas in which he yielded just a run in six innings with 10 strikeouts.

Rodon is 1-0 with a 3.12 earned run average in eight games (5 starts) and the first-year left-hander faced Houston on the road in a 6-3 win May 29, when he was reached for three runs (1 earned) in 6 1/3 innings.

The White Sox recently won two of three meetings with the Astros at the end of May and the two clubs split six games last season.






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